Apple’s iOS 14 update is still very much an unknown, however, as you may know by now, will change the future of Facebook advertising. Subsequently, Facebook recently launched Aggregated Event Management (AEM) for mobile web campaigns.
Here’s everything you need to know about AEM and how it can support your Facebook advertising as security measures increase:
What is Aggregated Event Measurement?
AEM is a protocol developed by Facebook that allows for measurement of web events from iOS 14 users. It permits domains to 8 conversion events that can be used for campaign optimisation.
“Our solution [AEM] is analogous to Apple’s Private Click Measurement but is designed to solve for key advertiser use cases not addressed by Apple’s proposal. Aggregated Event Measurement will continue to evolve with upcoming browser changes to help our advertisers support consumer privacy.” – Facebook (Source: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/721422165168355)
Why is Aggregated Event Measurement useful?
The 8 conversion events (eg. Purchase, View Content, etc.) are selected by you in rank of priority, and each event will send the data that is most valuable to your business. Data you receive from these events can be used in ad campaigns for targeting, optimisation, and measurement.
Why is Aggregated Event Measurement not useful?
Unlike Facebook’s pre-iOS 14 platform where unlimited conversion events are permitted, AEM is a compromised version where only 8 conversion events can be tracked (per domain). This includes pixel event conversions and custom conversions based on specific web pages.
When will Facebook AEM come into effect?
The limits enforced by Aggregated Event Measurement won’t begin until Apple start to implement their compulsory iOS 14 changes. Until then, you can set up your events to use Aggregated Event Measurement now, but it won’t impact optimisation or reporting until the full rollout.
What steps can advertisers take now to prepare?
-
Choose the conversion events that are most valuable for your business – advertisers with admin access to Facebook’s Business Manager gained access to the Aggregated Event Management dashboard in February this year. This allows businesses to rank their priority conversion events in terms of tracking purposes.
-
Consider all funnels when picking conversion event priorities – while your main focus might be conversions, being able to optimise towards and track mid and upper-funnel events will be key to a long-term strategy.
My theories:
While nothing is certain until the full rollout of iOS happens, my expert opinion lies with two theories for the best way to prioritise your conversion events:
Optimise for View Content
A View Content optimisation makes for a strong retargeting strategy. This will allow you to data capture users who have viewed your content, and craft ads specifically for retargeting them. Plus, it allows you to create sound lookalike audiences based of this user group. The idea behind this is that no matter what happens, you’ll always know who was on your site and can track them from there.
Optimise for Purchase
Purchase optimisation is probably what comes to mind as the top priority conversion event. And for good reason – people who purchase your product are one of your business’s greatest assets. They are great for modelling lookalike audiences and give a better understanding to your ideal consumer group. It also means you’ll know exactly which ads are generating sales so you can optimise better.
However, given the current understanding, where it will track whichever is the users last event – it would make sense to optimise for purchase. But there are still so many unknowns with this roll out, even when it will roll out, be prepared to make changes as information is released.
Need a hand with your Facebook ads? We’re always here to help – simply book in a free strategy session and we can go from there!
